ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE IN INLAND CITIES

Abstract

This article is based on the premise that access to justice is one of the basic rights of citizens. It is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution and, above all, a central principle of the democratic rule of law. The State must guarantee the exercise of this right by offering comprehensive and free legal assistance to those in need through the Public Defender's Office. Lack of access to this right leads individuals to exclusion. The consolidation of the democratic state will only occur when full access to justice is achieved; otherwise, it will remain selective and not a right for all. The democratization of justice is necessarily represented by the Public Defender's Office, which is a true reflection of the country's redemocratization. Its absence characterizes an increase in social inequality and even a merely formal defense carried out by court-appointed lawyers. Thus, the justifications that characterize the importance of this article are based on the high number of people who lack the financial means or even knowledge of their basic fundamental rights, and in the face of this reality, are left without proper access to justice. The central objective is to investigate the structural, geographical, and institutional challenges that hinder the expansion of the Public Defender's Office into the interior of the country, as well as to evaluate the impacts of Constitutional Amendment No. 80/2014 on the universalization of access to justice. The methodology applied to the study of access to Public Defender services in inland cities will be qualitative, allowing for a deeper understanding of access difficulties, the legal aspects involved, and the nuances of the principles of adversarial proceedings and full defense. It will also be exploratory and descriptive, based on scientific articles published between 2019 and 2025, legislation, bibliographies, legal doctrines, academic articles, specific cases, available statistics, public policies, and national legislation that explore the objectives to be achieved, as well as proposing recommendations or solutions to improve services for vulnerable populations. The results indicate that, despite normative advances and the recognition of the Public Defender's Office as an essential function of Justice, regional inequalities, a shortage of public defenders, and insufficient infrastructure persist, especially in small municipalities. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the Public Defender's Office depends on institutional strengthening, administrative decentralization, and the expansion of public policies that guarantee the institution's presence throughout the national territory, consolidating access to justice as a fundamental right of all citizens.Keywords: Public defender's office, court-appointed lawyer, access to justice, fundamental rights, democratization, regional inequality.